I've never truly felt like a man…Until I finally understood what it meant to protect someone. I held her the girl tightly in my arms as we were sitting down on the soft grass. We weren't in danger or anything. No one was attacking us. We weren't scared, hiding or even preparing to fight. Everything was just…peaceful. But still, even if someone was attacking us, I would protect her. No matter what. I knew that I would do anything, just to keep her happy. I would still do anything to keep her happy, even if there was another man who protected her. «Yoshiki… Don't ever let go of me,» the girl in my arms whispered, clutching her pale hands into my back. «I won't ever do that…Don't worry,» I reassured her.
No matter what…I wouldn't let go of her.
…
I wonder how Mayu is… Gosh, I can't even imagine how much she's been suffering, just like Shinozaki. However… I don't know how she died. Or maybe it's the same for her as for Ayumi? That she just suffered from some kind of illness or memory loss? Oh well, I hope she's alright. If I see her after school, I'll be sure to share some sweets with her as well. Ah, I wonder what I should bring today…
«Well, don't you look happy right now!» Satoshi said and patted me on the shoulder. We were in the classroom waiting for our teacher Yui sensei to come. «Huh? How can you tell?» I asked him and chuckled. He laughed with me and said: «You probably didn't notice it then. You've been smiling and blushing this entire time. Almost like a girl when she's close to a guy she likes,» he said. Pft, what?! «Excuse me?!» I yelled at him, raising my fist. «Geez, relax man! I meant it as a figure of speech!» he said. I groaned and leaned my face into my hand. «Is it about that girl you told me about?» he asked. I nodded. Satoshi's clumsy, but I can tell him about just anything if I have any problems. Even if the situation me and Shinozaki are in right now, might be too complex for him.
«So, do you have a crush on her or not?» he asked. I shrugged my shoulders. «What's that supposed to mean?! You were blushing this entire time!» he said. «Well, she's really important to me. But I'm not sure if it's love or not,» I replied. God, what the hell am I doing? Didn't I just tell myself that I could tell Satoshi anything? I'm just a pussy. Nothing more and nothing less.
«I don't get how that works… But okay,» he mumbled and sat down next to me. His desk was right next to mine. «Are you going to see her again today?» he asked me. I nodded. Good luck with that, man,» he said. «Thanks, I guess,» I mumbled and shut my mouth when Yui sensei opened the door.
…
«Geez, why do you always bring sweets everytime you're going to meet her?» Satoshi asked. «She loves sweets,» I said as I pulled out the box, filled with strawberry macaroons. Just as I was about to leave the school porch, Satoshi put his hand on my shoulder. «What is it?» I asked him. «Can I meet her someday?» he asked me. He stared straight into my eyes with a serious look. A look that I rarely see on his face «That's…» I stammered out. «Why? Just why is she so hard to talk about?! Can't you at least tell me her name?» he begged me. I thought about it for a while. He was still giving me that earnest look. I guess there are a lot of girls named Ayumi… But in this town, I'm pretty damn sure Asuka Shinozaki's family is the only one with the family name «Shinozaki». Welp, I have no choice. I have to call her by her first name. I gave him the same look and said:
«Ayumi. Her name is Ayumi».
Satoshi kept staring at me, as if he was still waiting for an answer. «Can you…please let me go now?» I asked him awkwardly. He blinked his eyes twice, processing what I'd said and immediately let go. «S-sorry!» he said, allowing me to leave. I did as he allowed me to.
«Hi Shinozaki! I brought your favourite!» I yelled. Ever since Shinozaki told me about her past, she didn't hesitate to tell me everything about herself. That made me really happy though. It's really weird how happy I got when she told me that her favourite dessert was strawberry macaroons.
Hi Yoshiki-kun! Wait, my favourite? Do you even remember what my favourite sweet is?
«It's strawberry macaroons, isn't it? Don't worry, I bought a whole bunch of them!» I said.
Yay! I can't wait to eat them with you!
I chuckled, closed my eyes and reached out my hand. Just like the other times, she pulled me inside that magical world.
…
«Firstly…How is Mayu?» I asked her after going out of the barrier with Shinozaki holding my hand. «Don't worry about her… She has had outbursts like that in the past, but this time, she hurt herself and I wasn't there to hold her back…» she muttered. Ah… «Where is she now? I asked. «She just went somewhere to rest, I think. It usually keeps her calm and collected,» she said. «Alright… That's good,» I said and smiled.
«It's really nostalgic, isn't it? Even though it was barely a month ago», Shinozaki said after looking around in the waterfall. «Yeah…», I said as I let the memories of our first encounter sink in. The surroundings were in the same color as the first time I visited this place. Heavenly blue. Shinozaki sat down on the blue grass and dipped her feet into the rainbowcolored water. She waved at me, telling me to do the same next to her. I did as she wanted me to.
«Where did you buy these? There's no way your sister made these, right?» she asked. «Macaroons are hard to bake, and my sister is not THAT good. I bought them at a local café,» I explained. «I see. Gimme gimme, I wanna taste!» she said and violently moved her arms. I just had to smile at her child-like behaviour. It's like having another little sister, exept that I feel a lot stronger about Shinozaki.
She popped a macaroon in her mouth and chewed it. Just as she swallowed it, her eyes sparkled and she squealed out: «Oishii desu!» I laughed and patted her head. It's like the-almost-kiss-scene didn't take place yesterday. It all seemed like a bad, yet wondeful dream now.
«It's wierd, isn't it?» she suddenly said. «Hm? What is?» I asked as I chew the last piece of the macaroon I held. She looked at me and smiled shyly. «When you eat something sweet with someone you care for, it tastes even sweeter», she whispered.
My eyes widened and my heart skipped a beat. Did she really mean that? «I…I didn't know…», I whispered. «What?» she asked. «I didn't know that you think of me like that…» I admitted. She laughed and said: «Did you really think that I just see you as some sort of distraction from this world?» I blushed and nodded. «Idiot», she said and bumped me on the head. «Ow!» I yelled and covered it.
«Well yes, I do use you as some sort of distraction. But don't get me wrong. I absoulutely treasure all of these moments that we've shared together. And those memories, are there to distract me from my current situation. I'm trapped inside here and I'm no longer human. But being with you…It makes me feel human again».
My heart softened up at those beautiful words. «You ARE human», I said. «No, I'm not», she protested and wrapped her hands around her knees. «Yes, you are!» I yelled at her. She smiled a bit and closed her eyes. «No matter how many times you say it, it's still not going to change anything. I'm just an illusion of my body. I'm not a real human of flesh and blood. End of story», she said sadly.
«Shinozaki», I said and took her hand. «Y-Yoshiki-kun!» she mumbled embarrased, avoiding my gaze. «Shinozaki. You're more human than I will ever be!» I said to her with an earnest look. She looked at me almost if she was about to cry any minute. «I…Thank you…», she said and turned away from me. We continued to talk for a bit more. «A bit more» however, turned out to be 3 hours.
…
Like always, I was a bit shaken up after the process. But that wasn't it. When I walked ahead of myself with closed eyes, I hit a some kind of band made out of plastic. After shaking my head and coming back to my senses, I noticed that it was that kind of band that police men used around a crime scene. It was yellow and said with huge, black letters: «KEEP OUT!»
What the… I looked behind me and noticed a huge white poster with black letters. As I read it, my blood ran cold and my heart almost stopped beating:
Due to accidents involving young children climbing and falling down, it has been decided by the company «Holy Sakura» lead by Asuka Shinozaki that the Andromeda tree will be cut down. Until then, DO NOT APPROACH THIS TREE.
A/N: DUN DUN! What the fuck will happen next?! Why would Asuka cut down the treet hat has her daughters name written on it?! How can Yoshiki and Ayumi stay together now?! Will Yoshiki be able to stop this?! Find out in the next chapters! There are probably only 3-4 chapters left of this! UNTIL NEXT TIME ;3
